Your current location

Helping children and young people engage with health promotion initiatives

Helping children and young people engage with health promotion
initiatives

Research on health promotion in schools undertaken by UWE
Bristol has demonstrated that young people are more engaged with
health initiatives when they take a more active role in them.
Findings have directly influenced the innovative design and
delivery of plans and policies at both regional and national
levels.

In the past, many of the diet, alcohol, drug and sexual health
initiatives promoted by schools have had limited impact. The UWE
Bristol research team, including
Judy Orme,
Mat Jones and Debra Salmon investigated how, why and to what
extent the active participation of young people in both sexual
health initiatives and healthier eating schemes can improve
engagement and deliver long-term benefits.

Improving sexual health

The researchers evaluated interactive sexual health drama
productions where young people were involved as actors, directors
or audience members. Their work showed how involvement in these
productions could help vulnerable young people respond more
positively to messages promoting healthy sexual relationships.

The team found that participants were more easily able to
identify, discuss and analyse a range of difficult sex and
relationship related to real world situations. As a result of the
findings, adapted versions of the drama approach were rolled-out
nationally, benefiting over 1,600 school pupils, and involving a
variety of health, social care and education professionals,
art-based practitioners, governing bodies, and politicians.

The research also informed the Teenage Pregnancy Unit Good
Practice Guidelines for arts-based work with children in the care
system, as well as underpinning the decision to extend the approach
into a national multi-agency training tool to address inequalities
in health.

Supporting vulnerable young people

In a related piece of important work, the UWE Bristol team
assessed the performance of the Brook Street Sexual Health Outreach
Service in Schools – an initiative aimed at vulnerable young
people and designed to tackle high rates of teenage pregnancy and
sexually transmitted infections in Bristol.

The research concluded that the programme was successful in
improving access to much-needed help and guidance and was
instrumental in improving sexual health knowledge, preventing
pregnancy, and in the early identification and treatment of
sexually transmitted infections.

As a result, the service was commissioned across nineteen
secondary schools in Bristol, adopting a number of recommendations
from the research around the involvement of young people in service
development, improving access to vulnerable groups, and developing
ways for young people to move seamlessly into mainstream sexual
health services. This approach was subsequently adopted by
local authorities and health services nationally.

Encouraging healthier eating

In addition to studies examining the impact of sexual health
initiatives on young people, UWE Bristol researchers have been
involved in ground-breaking work around the promotion of healthy
eating habits.

The research team evaluated the high-profile Food for Life
Partnership programme led by the Soil Association, to assess its
impact on health and wellbeing across England. After an extensive
examination of schools, pupils and parents, the team identified a
number of positive outcomes from the programme for both children
and their families, including increased take-up of healthy school
meals, increased fruit and vegetable consumption, and improved
performance at school.

The findings highlighted the important role of pupil input in
informing and directing local initiatives and creating credible
messages in schools and at home. They also showed that young people
actively engage with healthier eating messages when they can
participate in practical food education, grasp the origins of the
food they eat and relate their learning to real-world
situations.

Fit for the future

UWE Bristol’s research has had wide-ranging influence at
regional and national policy levels, and helped to secure
additional funding for development of the Food for Life Partnership
programme.

Commenting on the impact of the research, the Director of the
Food for Life Partnership (FFLP) said: “This seminal report
demonstrating the key impacts of FFLP has formed
the evidence base from which we’ve been able to develop
conversations with Public Health commissioners leading to the
implementation of locally commissioned FFLP programmes
that support the health strategies in local areas.”

In addition, the research prompted the Food for Life Partnership
to adapt the initiative across other settings, including children’s
nurseries, hospitals, universities and care homes. It has also
contributed to shaping government public health policy, helping to
accelerate improvements in school food by underpinning the business
case for investing in increased school meal take-up.